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HELP YOUR DOG BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR
T
here is nothing worse than having to live beside a ferocious dog or an endlessly barking one that’s been left alone all day. The ultimate responsibility of dog owners is to have complete control of their pets at all times. Here are three ways to ensure that you have that mastery. Dogs and cats must be on a leash no longer than 10-feet long when not on its owner’s property. Letting your dog run loose is doable only if the yard is fully enclosed. Naturally, being a good dog owner means that you’d love to see Fido running free and getting all the exercise he needs; if your town doesn’t have a leash-free dog park, get together with other dog owners and ask town hall to create one. Socialize your dog properly. No neighbor wants to live beside a snarling beast that
might bite at any time. When Fido is a puppy, expose him to new people, places, and situations. Take an obedience training class together. Remember, you are the boss of your dog. Think about clicker training, which is a non-physically violent way to train a dog to behave appropriately (and do neat tricks). Provide your dog the environment it needs. Don’t leave your dog alone at home all day. The nuisance barking of a lonely dog can be a legitimate cause for complaint by your neighbors. If you work long hours away from home, you will need to find a friend or dog sitter who will be good company for your pet while you’re gone. Here are some suggestions to dog lovers: • Keep your dog well away from other people and animals at the first sign of dangerous or inappropriate behavior. • Always take the necessary safety measures, depending on the context, and keep your dog on a leash and under control at all times. • Respect local dog regulations in public places. • Always be aware of your dog’s behavior in the company of other animals, strangers, or when it is in unfamiliar territory. • Demonstrate how to approach a dog in the proper manner when someone asks to pat your dog. • Respect others and don’t forget to pick up after your dog when you go for a walk.
ANKATO M
FEATURE S September 2014 Volume 9, Issue 9
magazine
16 TRUE ACE
A New Ulm woman follows her heart to Vegas, and her family comes with.
20 DEAR SON ...
An open letter to a boy about to start the scary, hairy adventure of high school.
28 CHEERS!
For southern Minnesota, a lot has changed in the last 10 years when it comes to beer.
About the Cover
Danielle Anderson, formerly of New Ulm, tells us her story of finding success in Sin City. (Photo by John Cross) MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 3
MANKATO
DEPAR TMENTS
magazine
9
10
14
32
6 From the Editor 8 This Day in History 9 The Gallery 10 Chit Chat 12 Introductions Tune Town’s Carl Nordmeier 14 Day Trip Destinations The Renaissance Festival 24 That’s Life The smell of growing up 31 Food, Drink & Dine Our latest invention 32 What’s Cooking Brazilian invasion! 34 Wine From Napa, with love 36 Happy Hour Rethinking vodka 38 Garden Chat Tying up loose ends 39 Then and Now Backgrounding the Boy in Blue 44 Your Style From trash, treasures 46 Your Health Baby formula guilt 48 Coming Attractions 49 Faces & Places 52 From This Valley Meet KTOE’s Don Rivet
Coming in October Mankato Magazine heads to the great outdoors with tales of hunting, fishing, trails ... and maybe a few ghost stories.
36 4 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
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MANKATO
From The Associate Editor
magazine
september 2014 • VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 PUBLISHER James P. Santori EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Robb Murray EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Nell Musolf Pete Steiner Jean Lundquist Sarah Johnson Jill Roesler Leticia Gonzales Bryce O. Stenzel Drew Lyon Leigh Pomeroy PHOTOGRAPHERS John Cross Pat Christman PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Ginny Bergerson MANAGER ADVERTISING Jen Wanderscheid Sales Theresa Haefner ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey
CIRCULATION Denise Zernechel DIRECTOR
Mankato Magazine is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South Second St., Mankato MN 56001. To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $35.40 for 12 issues. For editorial inquiries, call Tanner Kent at 344-6354, or e-mail tkent@mankatofreepress.com. For advertising, call 344-6336, or e-mail mankatomag@mankatofreepress.com.
6 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
By Robb Murray
Eat, drink and be merry!
H
ow would you feel if you could trace your career back to whatever happened to $44 in an online poker game? That’s exactly what happened to Danielle Anderson, the New Ulm woman featured in a brilliant feature story in this month’s edition written by Drew Lyon. Anderson’s story is one we can all relate to. This is a woman who followed her dream, and while the journey may not have been without its bumps, it paid off for her in the end. The theme for this month’s magazine is “toasts.” That’s why we bring you Anderson’s story. It’s certainly worth raising a glass to a woman whose success has led to playing poker against some of the best in the world. Speaking of glasses, we also bring you the story of southern Minnesota’s evolving beer culture. It wasn’t too long ago that a little festival called National Brewfest took the town by storm, and then after a few short years, disappeared. It’s funny to think what might have happened with a fantastic idea such as National Brewfest had it been done today. But it seems like it was simply a year or two too early, and the community wasn’t as ready for it then as it would be now. In addition to poker and beer, this month we also hit on everyone’s favorite rite of fall: back to school. Because today’s kids aren’t always thinking with their heads when they head off to the college dorms, we tracked down a few design experts to give them ideas on what to do with that dorm room. And for the kids who are still in high school, a few lessons from a guidance counselor on preparing for the ever-important task of applying to colleges. Wrapping up the back-to-school coverage is an essay from the heart written to a kid who is about to embark on life’s greatest (and toughest) adventure — high school. As always, we’re also bringing you great columnists, historical features and photographs.
Anyone with boys in the house is no stranger to the brand Axe. Whether it’s those crazy ads that used to be ubiquitous on TV or the smell wafting through your own home, you’re no doubt familiar with the impact it has had on today’s young male culture (and, if you believe the marketing, the certain impact the product has on all females!) Columnist Nell Musolf hits a home run with her dead-on thoughts about Axe and the modern state of scent. Jean Lundquist reminds us that, just because we’re in back-to-school season, that doesn’t mean gardening time is over. There’s plenty left to do. Sarah Johnson brings us a recipe all the way from Brazil where she spent a few weeks vacationing. It’s hard to imagine she had time to explore new cuisine with all that futebol happening around her. Our Day Trip section features one of my family’s favorite things to do: the Renaissance Festival. We try and make it every year because autumn just doesn’t feel the same without having a perfectly cooked turkey leg and a step back in time. And finally, a new section of the magazine this month takes all the wine, beer and food content and compiles it all in one convenient place for you (including our new wine columnist, whose face might be familiar to you!) This section is a work in progress, but our goal is to make it a great place to go get the true “taste” of southern Minnesota. There’s a ton of content to dig into this month so, without further ado, we raise a glass to the September issue! M Robb Murray is associate editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at rmurray@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6386
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 7
This Day
in
History
By Jean Lundquist
Brochures Annual Reports Catalogs Magazines Posters Hard and Soft Cover Books Direct Mail and More!
Friday, September 9, 1927 Judge Hiram S. Goff must have been in a bad mood when he sentenced Florian W. Mack to pay a fine of $15 for speeding in the city. This was in the same newspaper as a Red Owl Grocery store ad offering a crate of peaches for $1.05, and a dozen pint canning jars for 75 cents a dozen. Cider vinegar was going for 33 cents a gallon. Customers were advised to bring their own jug. Mack was arrested at the corner of 4th and Spring Streets, accused of going 35 miles per hour. Mack produced two witnesses to back him up that he was going only 18 miles per hour. Judge Goff didn’t believe him or his two witnesses. Thursday, September 15, 1932 A. L. Schneiderman of Minneapolis found Judge Hiram S. Goff in a seemingly better mood on this date a few years later. Pleading guilty in Municipal Court to a charge of driving on the grass in Sibley Park, Judge Goff sentenced Schneiderman to a fine of one dollar. Friday, September 13, 1912 Friday the 13th turned out to be an unlucky day for five “autoists” who were returning to their home in Nicollet County after attending the Mankato Fair. Trying to pass a horse drawn vehicle on the Belgrade Hill, the car spun out of control and plunged down the hill, a distance of 110 feet, just before 5 p.m. The accident seriously injured one of the occupants -- two painfully, one slightly and one not at all -- when he jumped out as the car began its rapid downward course. Witness Len Burill told authorities “It was thrilling to see,” though he feared all had died. Burill said the vehicle “turned turtle” four times, ejecting one man on the third turn, leaving him with This photo shows the Mankato Fair in the early 1900s. internal injuries. It was speculated that the injuries “were probably to the kidney.” Tuesday, September 24, 1901 “A peculiar accident” was reported, when Miss Lily Weber, 10-year-old daughter of William P. Weber, had a narrow escape. She had fastened the back of her dress with a “good sized needle.” When she leaned back, it was forced “full length” into her back. She was in great danger of it “being carried into her lungs, as her breathing kept working it deeper.” Dr. Brandenburg was summoned around midnight and made it to the girl’s side -over rough roads -- in less than an hour. “He cut deep into the back, and removed the needle entire.” Miss Lily was up and playing again in no time.
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Wednesday, September 25, 1901 Local law enforcement officials were in search of two small boys. Sheriff Gerlich reported he received a post card from officials in Ocheyedan, Iowa, asking him to be on the lookout. “If two small boys riding two small ponies should pass through Mankato, please hold them and wire.” One was said to be wearing a red cap.
The Gallery
Amy Sinning is making a name for herself with wearable art creations.
Lighting up a room; wearable art By Nell Musolf
“I
get into lights,” Amy Sinning says. One look at the clothing that Sinning has designed underscores the truth of her statement. Sinning most definitely is into lights, especially tiny LED lights that take an already pretty chiffon skirt and turn it into something reminiscent of fireflies flitting about on a summer evening. Sinning uses lights in her designer clothing collection, and the end result is, well, de-light-ful. Sinning became interested in incorporating light into her dresses after first seeing what are called puzzle lamps one day. Intrigued, Sinning decided to try and see if she could make a dress out of the same material. She could and she did, the result being what Sinning calls Puzzle Light Dresses. Each Puzzle Light Dress comes with a remote control and four removable light packs that allow the wearer to light up her dress in any color she chooses. With the addition of lights, the dresses become movable works of art that can be worn to a prom or in a wedding party or for a very
special night on the town. Puzzle Light Dresses aren’t inexpensive, but they are one of a kind. “You know, this is a piece of art that you’re wearing,” Sinning says while lighting up one of her dresses. Sinning, who grew up in Mapleton, recalls that her art teacher mother had her drawing and creating at a very early age. “My mother was an elementary school art teacher and also gave private art lessons. She had me painting and sketching by the time I was 3,” Sinning says. That early artistic background led to a career in art. Sinning attended the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley and then moved to California to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Sinning’s work was so well received there that the school created a scholarship for her. During her last year at the school she was awarded the Nolan Miller Award and took part in a fashion show at the Beverly Hills Hilton that showcased her work. “It was an incredible experience,”
Sinning says. A job opportunity for her husband Shannon brought the Sinning family back to Minnesota where Sinning has continued to work in the fashion industry. For a while she worked as a designer for the local costume company Buy Fun, a job she enjoyed because it enabled her to take buying trips to China. After the birth of her two children, daughter Chloe and son Parker, Sinning opted to find a job that required less travel. She is currently working as a fashion merchandiser for Ashley Furniture and Beeline Jewelry in Old Navy. She also teaches art classes at the Art Center in St. Peter and the Southern Minnesota Children’s Museum in Mankato, and sells her Puzzle Light Dresses. She was awarded an emerging artist grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council this past year, and was recently hired to teach fashion design at the Boys and Girls Club in St. Cloud. The multi-tasking artist, mom and teacher takes her packed schedule in stride. “I like to keep busy,” she says. MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 9
Chit Chat
The scoop on dorm room decorating By Jill Roesler
F
or college students living in a dormitory or an off-campus apartment, decor and furniture aren’t always at the top of the list when it comes to allocating money wisely. However, Margot Weyhe, Cassandra Bowser and Megan Rolloff, designers at The Design Element in Mankato, give some helpful tips for students to find affordable and stylish furnishings that can fit into any student’s budget. To begin, ask family or friends for old pieces of furniture that you can have or purchase at a reasonably inexpensive price. This gives you the option to make the piece your own by adding color and texture. For example, try to find furniture with multiple Margo Weyhe, Cassandra Bowser and Megan Rolloff have all the tips you need for purposes, such as ottomans that double as dorm room decorating. extra storage space, or futons that can be As for fixtures and small accessories, “brushed gold is used as a couch or extra sleeping space. trending as a new metal finish.” “When shopping for decor on a budget, big box stores Another great idea to make a living space feel larger is like Target or TJ Maxx have cute, reasonably priced to add mirrors as decor. Mirrors can act as an aesthetic options. Ikea and World Market are also well priced. piece and they’re functional. However, no matter how Check the clearance section first to see if you can find many mirrors or neutral colors a room has, the best way to what you’re looking for,” Rolloff said. make the room seem larger and more comfortable is to When deciding what colors to paint a piece of furniture, keep it clean and organized. the designers suggest using a neutral color such as gray, “Clean your space and put away the clutter; you will feel the trendiest neutral color for the season. calmer immediately,” Rolloff said. “Gray is versatile, it can be warm or cool and it goes When school, work and social lives become stressful, with just about anything,” Rolloff said. sometimes the only getaway a student has is in his or her However, when designing in a tight living space, you own dorm room or apartment. Therefore, to create a may want to add color to make the room appear larger comfortable space, keep it clean and use soft, neutral or and more welcoming. That said, use color sparingly and cool hues, such as light greens, blues or grays. in the form of accessories or a single statement piece so It is also suggested to use layered lighting in order to you can change the colors with the trends and seasons. avoid the harsh fluorescent lighting. Try to use desk or According to the designers, this season’s hottest colors floor lamps instead of fluorescent lighting. are deep jewel tones, such as turquoise, greens and plums. 10 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
It’s never too late to consider higher education By Jill Roesler
H
igh school students entering their senior year should begin applying for college at the beginning of their senior year. However, secondary education can be considered by anyone interested in extending their education. Heather Krause, a licensed school counselor at Mankato East High
School, stresses that college is not just for students leaving high school, but rather it is for anyone interested in furthering their education. “If you haven’t made the decision, it’s never too late to begin school,” says Krause. “Both two-year schools and four-year schools accept nontraditional students.”
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Simply put, a person can be considered a non-traditional student if he or she doesn’t begin college in the same calendar year the individual graduated high school. High school seniors should begin applying for school at the beginning of the school year, but if a student is undecided on whether college is the best option, beginning one semester or even several years later is always a possibility. Krause suggests to anyone with post-secondary ambition to meet with a guidance counselor in order to sift through the options. “All guidance counselors are willing to help people who are wanting to go to college,” Krause says. “No matter whether or not they went to school here, we’re always happy to help.” Having a desired major in mind does help in determining where to start. A two-year community or technical college allows a student to get into a specific program right away whereas a four-year university lets a student discover his or her interests. In order to begin the college search, Krause suggests a few simple steps that a person could do on their own. First, take a few interest inventories. Mankato Area Public Schools use connection.naviance. com, a service that Mankato students use to discover their talents and interests. For anyone not connected to Naviance, there are several interest inventories online such as www.cpp. com. Next, take an ACT or an ACCUPLACER placement test. The ACT is designed for students hoping to enter a four-year university and the ACCUPLACER test is for students entering a two-year school. Lastly, do some simple research online to find a school that piques your interest. A guidance counselor can help you to set up a guided campus tour. Counselors can also help you to figure out what will make you stand out as a student.
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Introductions
Interview
by
Robb Murray
Carl Nordmeier with his kids, Henry and Avery.
Music Man Carl Nordmeier adapts and stays relevant in the challenging record store business
W
hen you think about it, if music is your thing, there probably isn’t a better career than owning a record store. New releases, impossibly cool rock band T-shirts, that vertical rack of posters tucked in by the incense … A music geek’s dream job. In Mankato, the guy with that job is Carl Nordmeier, owner of Tune Town, the last record store left standing. Nordmeier has been going strong in Mankato — in a series of locations — for more than 20 years, and he’s found new ways to adapt in an industry that has been evolving very quickly.
12 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Mankato Magazine: Tell us what it’s like owning a record store. Is it as romantic as it seems, surrounded by all that cool music? Carl Nordmeier: The main thing I enjoy in running a record store is the face-to-face contact I have with the customers. Finding an album they have been in search of for years and seeing the expression on their face is pretty rewarding. At Tune Town people can bring in their albums they don’t listen to and we give them cash or store credit for it; we take in stuff almost every day. Going through the collections is like having Christmas 365 days a year; you never know what you will find. I also like turning a customer onto something new, then turning them into lifelong fans. MM: Talk a little bit about the evolution of your business. Used to be dominated by vinyl, then cassettes, then CDs, and now it’s coming back to vinyl again. Is it hard to
Tune Town employee Nikki Rains sifts through the discs at the store. adapt? CN: When I started Tune Town in 1993 our inventory was 50/50 CDs and cassette tapes, and the CDs still came in the cardboard long box. At that time the vinyl LP was dead. It was extremely rare to see a new release come out on vinyl. About 10 years ago downloading was really taking off and things were getting pretty bad, thousands of record stores closed and it looked pretty grim. When I opened Tune Town in Mankato back in 1993 we were one of four record stores in town: Disc Jocky, Musicland, and Ernie November were the others. Our store is now the only record store in southern Minnesota. I think we have weathered the storm and things are slowly starting to pick up. I’m hearing more news on new stores opening rather than closing. MN has gained at least five new stores in the last couple years. In the last year I have noticed quite a few new releases selling better in the vinyl format rather the CD. Oh yeah, the cassette format is starting to pick up in sales again. MM: What prompted you to get into the business? CN: Right out of high school I got a job at Target in Minneapolis, I was the music and movies specialist sales clerk guy. Did that for about three years, then moved on. Back in 1992 I was watching MTV (yes I was watching music on television), they had a contest “win your own record store”! All I had to do was fill out a postcard and mail it to MTV, I sent out 200 of them and made a vow to myself if I didn’t win I would move back home save some money and open a store a year later. I didn’t win. MM: What kind of grade would you give Mankato as a music town? Is it a vibrant community, musically speaking, or are we a quiet, not-much-happens-here kind of place? CN: I’ve lived in Mankato for 15 years, the music here seems to be like a roller coaster — lots of ups and downs.
Right now it seems to be pretty low key with all the construction going on. For a town this size Mankato has a lot of talent! MM: Who is you musical hero and why? CN: I can’t think of one musical hero; way too many to mention. It’s a lot easier if I could tell you my all-time favorite group, that would be The Beatles. I’ve been a fan since I was 5 and I never grew tired of them. Pretty simple. MM: What are the biggest sellers these days when it comes to vinyl? Does vintage sell better, or new releases? CN: When it comes to reissues or new releases for vinyl it’s the new stuff that sells. We just sold a couple when Led Zeppelin reissued the first three albums on vinyl but we sold over 30 copies of the new Jack White. New releases from Beck, Arctic Monkeys and Neil Young did way better than the CD format. I think people just want to have that original first pressing. MM: What’s your most prized musical possession, i.e. album, rock icon T-shirt, etc. CN: I really don’t collect much for “limited edition” stuff, most of that I’ve sold in the store. I do have and factory sealed copy of The Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense on vinyl, a “Promo Copy” that I saved from a dumpster. MM: Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever been to. CN: The best show ever … is a tough one. Radiohead at First Ave in 1995 right before The Bends came out. I think the majority of memorable shows came from First Avenue. MM: Are you a musician? CN: I am not a musician, but I kill at Karaoke! M MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 13
Day Trip Destinations: Renaissance Festival
By Leticia Gonzales
Jousting is always a popular attraction at RenFest.
Huzzah!
F
No September is complete without a trip to the Renaissance Festival
or the performers of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, the event is more than just smoked turkey legs, ale and exuberant 16th-century costumes; it is a gateway into a new realm of entertainment. “One of the things that makes the festival very different from everything else is that you don’t go to it,” said Mankato resident Tom Bliese. “You are invited into the village, and we not only entertain you, we act with you.” Bliese started performing at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 1981 as a stage act, and eventually transitioned into a regular street act. Known as Nostrathomas, the half-brother of Nostradamus, the 68-year-old Bliese said while the photo of him in character on the festival’s website hasn’t changed much, his regular appearance has. “When I first started, I lengthened my face, and accentuated the hollows in my cheeks, and put gray and silver makeup in my beard,” he said. “Now I put brown in my beard.” Before he put on the make-up and period costume, Bliese spent 30 years as a scene designer for the theatre department at Minnesota State University Mankato. He got his start as a RenFest performer while attending a state theatre conference 14 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
where he found himself in a surprise audition with a festival staffer who was searching for new actors. “Much of life is happenstance — being at the right place at the right time,” said Bliese. “If he hadn’t been there, I don’t think I would have ever taken the step to audition and be there.” Even with a strong background in theater, Bliese said his early experience as a festival performer took some getting used to. “I was acting for 10 hours; I was always on,” he said. “I had completely forgotten I was a village inhabitant.” Even with more than three decades of experience at the festival, Bliese said he continues to work through some of the nuances, but is very comfortable with his surroundings. “We very rapidly create a community of ourselves,” he said. With a street act that combines comedy and magic, Bliese becomes immersed in the role during the seven weekends he spends at the festival each year. “It combines, for me, all the best features of circus, vaudeville, fantasy, role playing, and I just fell in love with it,” said Bliese. “It’s a mixture of country fair, state fair, going to a
local pub, and eating exotic foods, and being entertained by the fools of the village and strolling minstrels, wizards, and other strange people that live outside the realm of things.” For Bliese, it doesn’t take much to create a stage on festival grounds, because “any place can be a stage.” “A cluster of three rocks or one tree can be a performing place,” he said. “I am one of those people who stroll around and engage people.” In addition to performing, Bliese has found himself heavily involved in helping to create the backdrop for the festival. In preparation for this year’s 44th season, he worked on the new Fairy Wing Forest, Mermaid Cove and Throne of Swords attractions. Last year he helped transform the Secret Garden into what is now the Fairy Wing Forest. Bliese also helped make some updates to the attraction for this year’s season. “You enter by going into a hobbit house; through it literally, and into the realm of the people who live in the woods, and creatures that live in the woods,” he said. Part of the redesign includes a Redwood tree cut down to a stump. But not just a normal tree-stump size; one that is eight feet tall and hollow, so performers can go in and out of it. The act includes a mother, grandfather and six kids. This year’s additions also include a space for a story teller’s garden, where guests encounter characters who “have stepped out of fairytales.” From the King and Queen, fairy, or knight, and maybe “perhaps one of those creatures who live under a bridge,” said Bliese. “Kids can write notes to fairies and stick in the fairy wing mail box,” said Bliese. “They can visit the fairy princess. And with any luck, we will convince them that we have shrunk them down to the size of a fairy.” There is also a new look for the underwater segment of the Mermaid Cove, which is “populated by three, four or five honest-to-God mermaids, splashing around.” “I use the visions of the entertainment director, and the visions of the owners, and throw my two cents in there, and that is basically what we end up with,” said Bliese. “I don’t think inside the box real well.” M
Entertainment for all kinds and for all tastes can be found at RenFest.
If you go
What 44th Annual Minnesota Renaissance Festival Shakopee, Minn. When Aug. 16 through Sept. 28, 2014 The Festival is open weekends; Labor Day and Festival Friday, September 26, 2014 open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., rain or shine. The Festival is located five miles south of Shakopee on Hwy 169 Admission Regular Admission at the Gate: Adults - $22.95, Seniors - $20.95, Kids (5-12)- $13.95, Children (four and under)- Free; Parking is Free Discount tickets are available at participating Menards, Super America, Whole Foods and Walgreens. Coupons towards admission are available at participating Subway and Papa Murphy’s locations. Visit www.renaissancefest.com or call (952) 445-7361 for more information MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 15
A SURE BET
Danielle Anderson started playing poker so she could hang out with her boyfriend. Now, the southern Minnesota native is living in Vegas and flying high a with poker career. Story by Drew Lyon | Photos by John Cross 16 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
T
en years ago, Danielle Anderson’s online poker ambitions hinged on a $50 investment. A $6 processing fee cut the broke college student’s balance to $44 before she played her first hand. “Everything that I’ve done in 10 years in poker is off of $44,” she said. Looking back on her poker beginnings, Danielle Anderson (nee Moon) wonders what could have been. If her account drained, she vowed to her then-boyfriend and future husband, Kory Anderson, that she wouldn’t put another cent into online poker. “I truly believe that, had I lost that $44, I was done with online poker,” she said. “I told my husband that. I’m extremely stubborn and if I say I’m going to do something, I don’t go back.” Maybe she would’ve fully pursued her interests in teaching. Or maybe nursing. Instead, she bet on her natural talent and won. And today she’s a professional poker player and star of a web series; she has an endorsement deal with Ultimate Poker, a Twitter handle (@dmoongirl) with nearly 6,000 followers, and shares tables with celebrities in highstakes games. “Actually, I think my account got down to $13 or something like that,” said Anderson, who earned a nursing degree from Minnesota West Community and Technical College. “I was $13 away from a completely different life. I kind of feel like I’m living on a free roll. I’m super lucky, because I very easily could’ve taken a bad beat.” (“Bad beat” is when you ultimately lose a hand that appeared early on that you were likely to win.) Anderson, of course, will be the first to amend her last statement; she knows better than most that poker requires far more skill than luck. “Poker has given me and my family so many opportunities,” she said during an interview at a park near her in-law’s home in Hanska. “I have a unique opportunity to do something that I love, and to make money doing it.” From New Ulm to Vegas April 15, 2011. A day that lives in poker infamy. Online poker players call it “Black Friday,” and it has nothing to do with post-Thanksgiving retail sales. It was the day the United States government shut down online poker within the country, and seized the funds of the top three poker sites and its customers. Including Danielle Anderson. “We were blindsided about it,” Kory Anderson said. “It really was a dream job for her, and when Black Friday happened, the landscape completely changed.” Anderson had been quietly living the best of both worlds in New Ulm. She was earning a comfortable living playing online poker, and raising her son, Easton. “I thought I had the best job in the world,” she said, “because my work was there whenever I wanted it to be, and so was my family. But with Black Friday, the whole poker world was in complete and utter panic. My world was turned upside down.” As one of the top-earning female online poker players, Anderson was the subject of a documentary, “Bet Raise Fold,” when Black Friday hit. While Anderson’s shock transferred to anger and despair, the documentary crew arrived in New Ulm to film her reaction. “The whole scope of the documentary changed,” she said. “It worked out well for the documentary, but it was a rough few days for me; a very depressing, scary time.”
Once the dust settled, Danielle and her family considered their options. Many of her online poker colleagues moved out of the country, but with both sides of their families based in Minnesota, an exodus from the U.S. was out of the question for Danielle and Kory. “There was a lot of anger in the poker community,” she said. “Most of the players are young kids — they can just pick up and go. Well, I have some roots here. It’s not so easy for me to pick up and take off.” But there was another option. Danielle and Kory, high school sweethearts, had spent their honeymoon in Las Vegas. In the years since Black Friday, Danielle, a Lake Crystal native, had begun playing high-stakes games in Los Angeles for 10 days every six weeks. And Nevada had also passed a law allowing online poker in the state. After another brutal Minnesota winter and an endorsement offer from Ultimate Poker, the allure of the bright lights and big city was too tempting to resist for the Andersons. In June 2014, the Minnesota natives moved to Las Vegas. “It’s really hard being a professional poker player in southern Minnesota,” she said. “You can’t legally play online here anymore, so to make it work, I had to travel, and I was done with that. I love Minnesota. I love the people, but (with the weather) I’m miserable seven months out of the year.” The chance to spend more time with Easton played a key role in Danielle’s relocation. “My family helps keep me balanced,” she said, “and my son was suffering as a result of me continuing to travel so much. I mean, he lost his first tooth and I wasn’t there. Now I can go home and I’m just a mom. Also, having a husband who is a supportive and understanding is huge.” A month into the move, the couple held no regrets, though they say the move has been hard on their families. “Both of my families were sad, but I think they’re supportive and understanding,” she said. “And it’s not like we’re moving to Russia. Flights are always cheap, too.” “It’s been a dramatic change,” Kory Anderson said. “It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but we’d discussed it for a long time and I think we’re both excited for the opportunity.” Kory already found work as a physical education teacher and high school football coach, while Danielle is able to visit Ultimate Poker’s office, playing online poker at home and work live poker at casinos. “Las Vegas is a polarizing place,” she said, “but we’ve always liked it. There’s a different side to it than the strip and the gambling and the partying.” This summer, Anderson competed in the World Series of Poker. She didn’t make it far, but there was one notable consolation. “It was nice to be done with the tournament at 12:30 at night,” she said, “and drive home to my house instead of a hotel.” MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 17
Danielle with husband Kory and son Easton. 18 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
All in By her own admission, Anderson doesn’t project the typical poker player’s disposition. “It’s funny, if you look at most poker players’ skill sets,” she said, “they’re very mathematical, typically more introverted and very logical. I hate math, I’m very outgoing, very sensitive.” And she’s a woman in a mostly man’s world. Anderson estimates less than 5 percent of the top poker players in the country are female. And the number lowers as the stakes grow higher, she says. But her gender hasn’t posed many occupational hazards for this confident, engaging, self-described “spit-fire.” Her opponents learned to underrate her talents at their own peril. “I would say that I was definitely underestimated at first,” she said. “It is super rare to see another high-stakes female player. It is kind of like a boys club. But it’s to my advantage, and I would say that in my experience, men have been more respectful than I thought. But you do have to have thick skin. There’s a lot of talk, but if I throw it back in their face, they usually leave me alone.” Anderson, 30, has years of experience playing poker with males. Before Black Friday, she was one of the few known online female poker players. It was also the catalyst for her initial foray into poker. Begrudgingly, she only started playing Texas Hold ‘Em games in Kory’s dorm room at Illinois State for social reasons. “These guys were playing so often,” she said, “that I thought, ‘If I’m ever going to hang out with my boyfriend and his friends again, I better learn this stupid game.’” Anderson describes herself as “super competitive,” and
feared a sharp learning curve would drive her away from poker before she found her bearings. But she was soon beating — and impressing — the boys. “I started winning all the time,” she said. “It became apparent that I was better than everybody.” “I don’t think she liked it much at first,” Kory Anderson said, “but she quickly caught on.” Kory had a friend who played online poker, and suggested Danielle give it a shot. “I was like, ‘That’s the worst idea in the world,’” she said. “I wanted nothing to do with it.” “I was persistent that she should do it,” Kory Anderson said. “I knew how good of a player she was. She finally conceded, and the rest is history. She never looked back.” Danielle soon realized her new hobby was more lucrative than her day job selling shoes, and thus dove headfirst into online poker. But poker became a job, hardly a passion. When she was barred from playing online poker, Danielle says she began appreciating her profession and the rewards it’s reaped. “Before Black Friday, I wasn’t that passionate about poker,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much poker had done for me. Now, I really value the freedom it offers me, and it’s made me more driven.” It’s safe to say her initial $50 investment was money well spent. “When I first started, I remembering thinking, ‘If I could just make $100 a month and what that would mean,” she said. “That was my wildest dream — just being able to supplement my income with poker. I never imagined that it could take me all over the world. It’s truly been beyond my wildest dreams.” M
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say s E
Throughout the lifetimes of fathers and sons, moments come when advice must be given. This is one of them.
An open letter ...
Son, high school can be tough. Here’s some words of wisdom. By Robb Murray 20 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Marching to your own beat is a tough call for a high schooler. But it can pay off. Dear Sam, I can’t believe I’m writing this to you. You’ve grown up so fast. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was holding you in my arms in our old Nicollet Avenue home, whisperingly singing “Thunder Road” to you as you drifted off to sleep. I’d lay your body down softly so you wouldn’t wake, then rest my elbows on the railing of your crib and just look at you, wondering how you came to be so perfect, and wondering just how you’d conquer the world. So quiet. So peaceful. Everything was so simple back then. Well, as you know, bud … Things are about to get A LOT less simple. In a few days, you’ll walk through the doors of Mankato West High School and begin the next chapter of your life. It will be terrifying. It will also be exhilarating. You’ll walk through the halls in a haze of uncertainty. You’ll also feel like you’re on the cusp of something life-changing. Both will be
true. You’ll be scared. And you’ll be just fine. When you’re sister entered high school I wrote her a little guide to get her through that first year. It seems only fitting I do the same for you. We all learned a lot from her journey. Some of that knowledge will be found below. But you’re not your sister. You’re unique. And so the advice I’ll give you will be unique as well. Get involved One of the things we told your sister was that, no matter what, try EVERYTHING. You’ll never know what you’re good at until you give it a go. Your brain is a big one, kid. It can do a lot of things. It can also keep you from doing things because of this phenomenon called “fear of what other people will think.” Screw those people. Freshman year is a time when the slate is clean, a time when you get a “do over,” a time when you can move beyond and leave behind the people who got to decide what was cool in middle school. Join the speech team, MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 21
push yourself to be the best in “ChemX,” see how far you can go with saxophone. Join the history club. Don’t skip the Homecoming events. Be there for everything. If your friends aren’t going to an event because it’s not cool enough, find people who will go. You only get to do this once, Sam. Trust me when I say that, before you know it, you’ll be knocking on the door of graduation and wondering where the heck the time went. Don’t get to your senior year and wish you’d done so much more. That’s what I did. And I’ve regretted it ever since. You’re not exactly an organized guy. Stay that way. And change … Without rehashing some of the darker moments of your past, I’ll just say this: You have your father’s memory and organization skills. For that, I pity you. We’ve got high hopes for you, bud. But we’re not going to be able to be there to tell you to hand in that assignment or reason with your teacher about something you forgot. You’re going to have to figure this stuff out because starting this year, grades matter. I know you’re going to do extremely well when it comes to the work. But being smart is only half the battle. You need to be smart about being smart. Do that and the rest should work itself out. At the same time, you also inherited another trait from your father: You’re always in the moment. For that, I’m very happy for you. It will allow you to go with the flow, to let the joy of what’s happening now carry you away without worrying about little details. Sometimes those details are important, but just as often, they’re not. Stay in the moment, let it take you to places — and people — you’ve never been or met. Keep an open mind about people. That person you can’t stand is fighting a war you know nothing about. I know it’s easy and tempting to take a look at someone and try and make a judgment about their character. Easier still — and perhaps more appropriate — is judging someone by past actions. I won’t tell you to let your guard down about those people. But I will tell you to keep an open mind. There have been a few people you’ve heard rumors about, people who got busted for doing drugs or who got into a fight with a teacher. Understand that 22 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
the things you hear are NEVER the full story, and you need to refrain from judging people. Everyone is struggling in some way, and for some people those struggles are a lot more significant than the ones you’re dealing with. You’ve had it relatively easy. Food on the table, roof over your head, a mom and dad who love you. Not all of your peers can say the same, bud. It sucks to struggle. And sometimes that struggle can look like something else. It can look like bullying, crappy grades, apathy at school. Be a friend to all, Sam. That kid who looks like he doesn’t give a rip about school may be going home to an abusive home. Your friendly face might be the only one he sees that day. You’ve always been so curious. That will take you everywhere. A lot of things make you unique, bud. But one of my favorites is your natural curiosity. You read the paper to get the latest update on the crisis in Ukraine. You immersed yourself in Civil War books. Learned how to work with wood. Studied everything about the World of Warcraft. It’s natural to you. You just love everything. Stay that way in high school. This trait, guaranteed, will take you to new experiences and new people. And what’s life without discovery? Boring. So continue being curious. I feel bad for people who go through life without your sense of wonder.
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Be you I said this to your sister and I’ll say it to you. Above all else, the most important piece of advice I can give you is to just be Sam. Be the bighearted young man we all know you are. Stay true to yourself; never be ashamed of who you are or what you are. Do this and high school can be just as much fun for you as it has been for Emma. She took an aggressive approach and did everything she had time for (and a few things she didn’t!) You should do that too, bud. You’re only young once. You may have to forfeit some video game time, but trust me: You’ll be glad you did. But don’t grow up too fast, bud. There’ll be plenty of time for that later. To me, you’ll always be that tiny guy I sang to sleep every night. I’d like to keep imagining you that way, if you don’t mind. M MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 23
That’s Life By Nell Musolf
I
Axe Me No Questions and I’ll Smell You No Lies
t’s always easy to tell when one of our sons is heading out for the evening: the house becomes filled with the pungent, eye blinding aroma of Axe aftershave. Axe has been the aftershave of choice in our house for several years now, inspired, I am sure, by a series of commercials in the late 1990s that showed many frenzied teenage girls throwing themselves at oh-so-cool teenage boys who apparently reeked of, naturally, Axe. Since those early days I have bought many a bottle of Axe to put on the bathroom shelf, and am always entertained by the names that the makers of the cologne have come up with — Africa, Nevada, Java — who knew Nevada had a specific smell? As the years passed the names became a tad more mysterious — Dimension, Dark Temptation and Gravity — but to my middle-aged nose, no matter what the name on the Axe bottle, the contents all smelled the same; a lot like Raid bug killer. Of course, the scent isn’t really the selling point. The selling point is getting across the belief that slapping on a particular aftershave will result in an immediate wave of endless attention from lovestarved females. It goes without saying that the girls in those ads are never Plain Jane types with problem hair and heavy thighs.
The girls in the ads are invariably gorgeous with zillionaires for parents who are just aching for a smelly son-in-law for whom they can buy a Maserati. In other words, those sexy aftershaves that cost mere pennies are going to rake in beaucoup profits for the lucky stiffs smart enough to wear them. Such ad campaigns are hardly new. Hai Karate used to have a commercial that featured a nerdylooking guy who was a dead ringer for the 98 pound weakling in the Charles Atlas weightlifting ads. As soon as Mr. Nerdy put on Hai Karate, he immediately became a chick magnet extraordinaire. As in fighting-women-off-with-both-handsand-running-down-the-street-a-lathe-Beatles-at-the-height-of-theirfame chick magnet. The catch phrase for Hai Karate was “Be careful how you use it,” the obvious implication being that while a little Hai Karate would most likely result in an evening of fun, too much might cause a trip to the local emergency room for everyone involved. Then there was English Leather, a cologne that had ads featuring a beautiful woman semi-smirking as she told the camera, “All my men wear English Leather — or they wear nothing at all.” That ad disturbed me on several levels since I couldn’t help but picture pitchwoman’s British boyfriends going horseback riding wearing nothing at all and ending up with some nasty bruises in plenty of uncomfortable places. I also wondered just how many boyfriends that little lady had and if any of them knew about each other. That, of course, raised my final question: if they did know about each other, were they all really wearing English Leather 24/7? It’s no wonder I seldom finished my history
homework with such weighty problems gnawing at me whenever I watched television. Of course, women’s perfumes have had some pretty outrageous names and ad campaigns over the years too, such as Tabu — “the forbidden fragrance,” My Sin and Obsession. More recent perfume names include a scent ambiguously called Perhaps and another entitled Earthworm. Earthworm? Really? A high school teacher once told our class about a friend whose job was thinking up the names for the many shades of lipsticks produced by Revlon. For that she was paid $100,000 a year. Since high school was many, many moons ago, I can’t even begin to estimate what the lipstick namer for Revlon now earns, but I’m guessing it’s not shabby. This tells me that if someone can score big bucks thinking up lipstick names, the people who hit on “Perhaps” and “Earthworm” are most likely overpaid too. But what I’d really like to know is where are these jobs located and how can I apply for them? Maybe I don’t have a degree in marketing but I’m pretty sure I could come up with a perfume name that is at least on par with “Earthworm.” As any devotee of Mad Men knows, advertising is all about convincing the consumer that he or she will never look good enough, smell good enough or be good without the help of Product XYZ, guaranteed to turn the wartiest of toads into Prince Charming. Even with that knowledge, we all keep on buying and I suppose we always will. Who knows? Maybe a bottle of Earthworm is just what I need to nail that job with Revlon. Nell Musolf is a mom and a freelance writer from Mankato.
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Reflections
By John Cross
T
he journey to enlightenment is a long one. It begins every September when youngsters, sporting new clothes, new book bags bulging with fresh pencils, crayons and notebooks, step into the crisp morning sunshine to begin a new school year. From a young student’s viewpoint, the next nine months of classes stretching from September through May until the shackles of education once are cast away, might seem like an eternity. They should enjoy the illusion while it lasts. Soon enough, they will discover the sad truth that time flies. And waits for no one. M
26 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 27
Ted Marti of August Schell Brewing Co. in New Ulm.
Once upon a brew A lot has happened in the last 10 years to make southern Minnesota’s beer culture a vibrant and ever-evolving one
O
By Robb Murray
n a quiet night in Mankato, Jim Gehrke bellies up to a locally brewed beer, wraps a massive fist around a pint glass and takes a sip. “This is Mankato Brewery’s Duly Noted,” he says when asked what he’s drinking. “It’s not bad.” Duly Noted wasn’t even a gleam in some master brewer’s eye when Gehrke was working his butt off trying to give Mankato a premiere summer beer event. Remember National Brewfest? If not, let us refresh your recollection. For a beer lover, it was heaven. The craft beer boom had yet to send shockwaves this far inland. Sure, there was a small selection of decent, under-the-radar beers, but the kind of variety we’re enjoying now — where liquor store coolers seem to grow each time you visit, and are packed full of more and more beers with names like something out of a creative writing seminar — had yet to arrive. It was 2007. National Brewfest offered attendees the chance to taste as many beers as they wanted – beers far different from the American lagers that dominated national beer consumption for decades, beers with mystery, beers infused with fruits or chocolates, beers darker than night, beers that tasted like lemonade – all for one entry fee. 28 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Brewers from around the country set up shop. For some it was the first time their creations had set foot on Mankato soil. That first year, if you bought your ticket in advance, you paid $15. And after a couple of hours of tasting, the Little River Band fired up, filling downtown with the familiar chords from “Lonesome Loser,” “Happy Anniversary” and “Take it Easy on Me.” People came. It was a beautiful thing … Until it wasn’t. Clutching that pint of microbrew, Gehrke pauses, gazes long and chooses his words carefully when he talks about the end of National Brewfest. He and partner Joe Tougas had to work with a city government that was trying to maintain order and follow rules as well as wrestle with the fact that, as event promoters, they were relative novices. National Brewfest, despite the fun had by all, never really made a profit. “You had a situation where two guys without a penny were throwing a $100,000 party,” said Gehrke, who now works as the awareness coordinator for the Minnesota Valley Action Council. “You can only do that so long before you get a downpour that makes you lose a bunch of money.” For three years they broke even. Eventually, they looked
Tim Tupy of Mankato Brewery. around the landscape — alcohol deaths were making news, the economy was struggling (leaving potential advertisers and partners skeptical about climbing aboard), and that craft beer tsunami — still a few years away — had yet to change the hearts and minds of beer drinkers in the profound ways it has in recent years. “If only we had been a little more successful, if we could have just gotten past the breakeven point,” he said. “But we never did.” It seems a case can be made that the evolution of beer culture — in the U.S., in Minnesota, in the Mankato area — has come a very long way since those days of National Brewfest. Craft beer is a juggernaut. Savvy entrepreneurs are capitalizing on its potential. Creative brewers are mining the endless possibilities that beer has. More people are drinking. More breweries are emerging. We’ve come a long way. Mankato Brewery Ever since the first whispers floated through the community about the possibility of a local brewery starting up, there has been a buzz about Mankato Brewery. Founded by Liv Aveda Salon owner Tim Tupy and Tony Feuchtenberger, Mankato Brewery has been the kind of local business that can do no wrong. When it launched its first brew, Mankato Original, it sold out quickly. As more beers followed, the brewery’s reputation grew. Today, the brewery itself is becoming a favorite spot for live music, wedding receptions or other gatherings. And the beer itself? It’s Haymaker IPA has received rave
reviews, as has its Duly Noted and Organ Grinder. Tupy says they’re focused on keeping Mankato beers Mankato grown. “Everything is local, organic, homegrown, and people embrace that,” he said. “But you still also have to have good product. And for us it’s about just making a good beer regardless of whatever trends are out there.” Having said that, Tupy says he’s not unaware of the trends, particularly ones that are working in his favor. For instance, when Tupy started working on the brewery, craft beer made up about 4.8 percent of beer consumed in the U.S. Now that number is closer to 9 percent and predicted to go much higher before leveling off. “People are still consuming the same amount of beer,” he said. “But they’re choosing different beer.” Within the ethos of Mankato Brewery is a spirit of experimentation. Each week the brewery comes up with what Tupy calls “one off,” tiny batch. One recent July day the brewery, with a wedding reception ready as guinea pigs, MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 29
Ted Marti peers into a batch of Grain Belt Premium in progress. infused its Haymaker IPA with key lime and raspberry. “It more or less our little R and D we do every week,” he said. “Something different every week.” Ten years ago, he said, he’s not sure this kind of brewery would be as successful as it’s been. “There were craft brewers on the scene and they were doing a good job, but people’s taste buds and they’re desire for hops has changed,” he said. Today, he said, people want more variety. They don’t necessarily want to drink more alcohol. But they want the alcohol they do drink to be packed with more wonder. They want to be surprised, they want to be challenged. They no longer want the personality of the beer to be an afterthought. Today, it takes center stage. Craft beer has become the reason for going out. Brew pubs are popping up more and more. Today there are more breweries in Minnesota than there has ever been. But none of them have been around as long as the local godfather of quality brews. Schell’s Brewery It’s 11 a.m. on a Tuesday and Ted Marti — surrounded by a laptop computer, budget reports and messy desk you’d expect from a very, very busy businessman — has a snifter of a microbrew in progress in the middle of it all. To the untrained eye, it may look like Marti is partaking in one of the perks of being the owner of a brewery. Where else could you justifiably drink on the job if not at a brewery? But a more nuanced view may go something like this: Even the second-oldest brewery in America needs to stay nimble in an industry growing more competitive by the day, and the owner of the company probably needs to stay abreast of what his brewers are coming up with. Marti has had the company reins during what is arguably the most volatile time in American beer history. They got by for decades brewing mostly their American lager (sold as Deer Brand), until it got back to its roots with German beers. That was in the 80s. During the 1990s Schell’s produced 38 different beers. And in 2002, Schell’s rescued Grain Belt Premium when its creator, Minnesota Brewing, went under. Today, Grain Belt is Schell’s biggest seller by far, giving the brewery a financial cushion to keep experimenting and coming up with new brews. And the craft beer boom has the nation’s second oldest brewery busier than ever. 30 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
“Ten years ago there wasn’t this drive to do new stuff all the time,” Marti said. “It’s a challenge to keep consumers interested.” Marti says his generation probably couldn’t have given birth to the craft beer wave. For Marti’s generation, beer wasn’t the goal. It was a social lubricant that furthered the real goal of engaging with friends. That’s also the way it is back in the motherland, Marti says. The Germans aren’t doing a lot of monkeying around with recipes because, for them, alcohol is used in different ways. Brewfest, revisited Each year, when National Brewfest concluded, Gehrke and Tougas examined the voluntary surveys that had been filled out by attendees. What they found out surprised them, Gehrke said. As it turned out, Gehrke estimates roughly one quarter of all attendees came from the Mankato area. That means most people came from somewhere else, which means, A) the event had great potential to draw a wider audience, and B) buy-in from the locals was not what they’d hoped it would be. That same survey showed that most people rated the festival a 7, 8 or 9 on a scale of 1-9. Something a friend told him regarding Brewfest may have been a comical harbinger: “She said, ‘Hey, it’s a cool idea, but you gotta remember, there aren’t a lot of cool people in Mankato.” True or not, the other factors at play probably played a bigger role than the cool factor of the public. In 2008, the biggest news in the Mankato area was the series of college student deaths, each of which had something to do with alcohol consumption (either directly or indirectly.) Consumption was on the collective minds of the localcitizenry. There may not have been a worse time to try establishing a festival built on the idea of drinking, even if the drinking was on a different planet, figuratively speaking, from the drinking that led to the 2008 deaths. As for the economy, well … 2008 was the year of the government bailouts: $700 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a few billion more for General Motors. Times were tough. It may have been a lot to ask for Mankato-area advertisers to buy into a concept that could be misconstrued as a really, really big beer party. So … What if they’d stuck it out?
N
ot much. That’s why we’re proud to present a new feature for Mankato Magazine this month that reminds us that the good things in life often come on a plate or in a bottle. Food, Drink and Dine will be the place you can look in the magazine to find all your favorite features on what to eat, what to drink and where you can do both in southern Minnesota. You’ll find our food columnist, Sarah Johnson, as well as our new wine columnist, Leigh Pomeroy. You’ll also find occasional features on new places to eat in town or new additions to some of the region’s most popular menus. We’ve collected the best food & drink features from our wire services, which ensure you’re hearing from some of the best food and drink writers from around the country. Food, Drink & Dine is our effort to give you more of the content you’ve been asking for from Mankato Magazine. We hope you enjoy it.
—
Robb Murray, Associate Editor, Mankato Magazine
food, drink & dine
What’s better than fine wine, craft beer and food done right?
southern mn style MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 31
What’s Cooking By Sarah Johnson
A Brazilian, fried egg invasion!
W
e recently took a trip to Brazil, a country very few normal Americans ever think about, much less travel to. Brazilians speak Portuguese, a beautiful language which few outside of Portugal itself speak, because the Portuguese took care of most of Brazil’s colonizing needs back in the heady days of slavery, piracy and subjugation. The only foreign languages I know is a little high school French and the Spanish I picked up from Sesame Street. While in Brazil, I did learn some supremely useful words such as “oops,” “sorry,” “I don’t speak Portuguese,” and “more ice please.” But being in a country where English is uncommon is a challenge in itself. We considered it a good day if we managed to feed ourselves, make simple purchases, avoid getting run over and not get seriously lost. Mundane activities become epic struggles when you don’t speak the lingo, and when you succeed at making a clerk understand that you want to send this postcard to America without either of you resorting to tears or violence, it is a wonderful thing indeed. When you do not succeed, that’s OK too, because
you’re still in this gorgeous tropical country and you don’t have to show up for work in the morning. You can just shrug your shoulders and wander off to the next delicious meal or random guy strumming a guitar in the city square or kids playing futebol barefoot in the park. Part of the delight of eating in Brazil is the lovely garnishes that came with meals. Sometimes it’s a bright salad or fresh fruit, or say you order a “plata”: a “plate” with meat, rice, beans and lettuce/tomato salad, commonly available for about 5 bucks American. The meat could be a grilled chicken breast, a pork chop, or a very thin beefsteak. Plopped on top of this chunk of meat is always a delicious fried egg. “Why,” you ask? I’ll tell you: I have no idea, but it’s a really good thing. A fried egg, we discovered to our delight, is a delicious accompaniment to any kind of meat. The slightly runny yolk creates a sauce that’s just BANG right on target. Imagine how good a sausage patty tastes smothered in egg yolk inside your breakfast biscuit, and you’ll see where I’m going here. If you like the idea of a fried egg on your food, try the artery-bustin’ ...
Eggs Benedict Burger: Ingredients Toasted English muffins or burger buns Grilled beef or turkey burgers Crisply fried bacon Easy blender hollandaise sauce (see below) Fried or poached eggs Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce: 10 tablespoons butter (you read that right: 10 tablespoons) 3 egg yolks 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional) Melt butter in small pan, but don’t let it boil. Place egg yolks, lemon juice and cayenne in blender. Blend at mediumhigh speed 30 seconds. Turn to lowest setting and drizzle in the melted butter while the blender is going. Blend for 15 more seconds. Taste, and add more salt and/or lemon juice if necessary.
Sarah Johnson is a cook, freelance writer and chocolate addict from North Mankato with three grown kids and a couple of mutts. 32 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
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This family-friendly event will be full of Free, kid-friendly and healthy samples, hands-on activities, and a chance for you to meet the people who grow and make your food. with the school year just beginning, so do the daily lunches and after-school snacks. Let us give you some ideas for filling those little bellies with delicious and good-for-you foods. The art center and community education will be with us sharing hands-on activities for even more creative fun! Free samples, great giveaways, and a chance to meet Mulberry Moo, our co-op Kids club mascot!
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 33
Wines By Leigh Pomeroy
Wines for Fall
A
s I write this I have just returned from three marvelous days tasting wines with old friends and winemakers in Napa Valley. In the early 1970s, Mike Richmond (then with Freemark Abbey Winery), Bruce Neyers (then with Mayacamas Vineyards), Bill Cadman (then with Heitz Cellars) and I had a wine tasting group that met periodically at our various residences in Napa Valley. We were young, enthusiastic entrants into the valley, which was then a sleepy backwater agricultural region of walnuts, plums, grazing land and grapevines — a far cry from the “Disney World with vineyards” that it is in 2014. Over the years I have kept close contact with Bill but had lost contact with the others. Only recently have I begun to reconnect with Mike and Bruce. Today, Mike is General Manager at Bouchaine Vineyards, Bruce has his own Neyers Vineyards, and Bill owns Tulocay Winery. They are established icons of the valley but still retain their enthusiasm, charm and wonderful senses of humor that endeared them to me 40 years ago. Alas, of the three only Bruce’s Neyers Vineyards wines are available in Minnesota and then only in limited quantities. Yet all are making incredible wines reflecting their unique origins and styles. That said, what wines can we find in Minnesota as we segue from our hot, muggy summer into our cooler, colorful fall? The first place I often look is to our own local wineries — Chankaska Creek in Kasota, Morgan Creek in Cambria and Indian Island near Janesville. They all provide a fun and unique tasting experience with a full gamut of wines, from light white to heavy red and from dry to sweet. As for which wine to choose, I always say that the wine you are sipping and enjoying now is the best wine in the world, regardless of what any critic or high-falutin’ wine magazine might say. But… for the autumn season I like to choose wines that reflect the climate. During this past hot summer I tasted and enjoyed many young, fresh 2013 rosés from southern France and a few from California. They were wonderful for just sipping on the patio — no pretention, just pure, uncomplicated enjoyment. But as we move into fall we perhaps want to get a bit more serious: Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs, perhaps, and dry Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, if you can find them. (Unfortunately, many tend to be too sweet.) Also, autumn means we can begin moving into serious reds again — maybe not the heavy Cabernets and Syrahs that warm us on a subzero winter night in front of the fireplace, but lighter reds like Beaujolais, Pinot Noirs, Italian Valpolicellas and Bardolinos, and lower alcohol Zinfandels. Of course, whatever wine you choose can work for the occasion. I have heard of people who drink Champagne exclusively with every meal regardless of what is being served. And I know of others who wouldn’t let a white wine pass their lips. As my old friend and vineyard owner Bill Weeks used to say, “Red wine is what you drink. White wine is what you wash pickups with.” In vino veritas! 34 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
F all wine Pomeroy’s Picks
recommendations from Mankato area wineries: Kent Schwickert, co-owner of Chankaska Creek Winery, recommends the winery’s recently bottled 2013 Reserve Estate Marquette (about $40). This medium-bodied dry red from the winery’s home vineyard is designed for sipping with locally grown lamb (inquire at the Mankato Farmer’s Market) or light, fresh tomato-based, Italian-style dishes. Regrettably, only about 125 cases are available.
Adam Marti, sales manager for and son of Morgan Creek Winery owners Georg and Paula Marti, champions the winery’s well-established Puck’s Pride, an off-dry blend of Frontenac and Marquette grapes. He cites the wine’s cherry aromas and bold, wild, oak-tinged flavors as a wonderful pair to wild game or just simply a fall barbecue. $15.95 at the winery.
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EXPLORE OLD WORLD AND EMERGING NEW FLAVORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRADITIONAL HISTORIES OF GRAPES & GRAINS.
OCT 4 Annual Great Grape Stomp! And Say Cheese Savor the Wine (Reser vations Required) Stomping, Dancing, Music and Food. OCT 11 Grapes and Grains New Ulm Artisan Wine and Craft Beer Tasting, Music & Food.
Ray Winter, longtime grower and advocate for Minnesota hybrid grapes, cites his Indian Island Winery Holiday Spice Wine as a perfect accompaniment to fall holiday and celebration fare. It’s made according to, he says, “a secret formula” similar to mulled wine and designed to go great with your Thanksgiving meal and in particular pumpkin pie. $14.95 at the winery.
morgancreekvineyards.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 35
Happy Hour
By M. Carrie Allan | Special
In defense of vodka,
to
The Washington Post
the drink cocktail snobs love
I
f you want to know whether someone is into craft cocktails but you don’t have enough evidence to perform a Sherlockian assessment — no punk-rock tattoos, old-timey mustache, fingers rich with citrus oils — just ask them what they think of vodka. If they roll their eyes, you’ve probably found a craft cocktail person. Unless you’re invested in the scene, you might not know that this scorn exists. Vodka sales, after all, certainly don’t suggest that the spirit needs a knight in tippling armor. In 2013, according to the Distilled Spirits Industry Council, U.S. vodka sales generated $5.6 billion in revenue — 32 percent of all spirits sales volume. And yet, although the craft cocktail movement has breathed
new life into vermouth and amari and countless other complex spirits, it has largely turned up its nose at vodka. Why? There’s an obvious answer: Bartenders are interested in flavor, and vodka is legally defined by the federal Tax and Trade Bureau as a spirit distilled “as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.” I love complex spirits — the wooded warmth of whiskeys, the botanical labyrinth of gins. And yet, while complexity in cocktails is a virtue, it is not the only virtue. If you see the cocktail as an art, no matter how ephemeral, how can you not embrace the promise of a blank canvas? What’s not to like about a spirit that slips into the background,
to hate
highlighting your mad-scientist bitters, your fresh fruits and tinctures, your forgotten liqueurs? Given the creative space vodka can provide, the anti-vodka trend seems a little elitist — a rage against the popular just because it’s popular, like the backlash against an overplayed song. Sure, some popular things are Kim Kardashian and “Fifty Shades of Grey.” But some popular things are Steven Spielberg, favored not only because they have broad appeal but because they’re actually good. Vodka has been the redheaded stepchild of the craft cocktail world for long enough. It’s time to stop shaming vodka drinkers as a bunch of flavor-dumb simpletons bleating for hard alcohol. Vodka has its place.
Pimm’s Cup Variation 2 servings
Ingredients Ice, 2 ounces vodka, 2 ounces Bonal, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice, 1 ounce fresh orange, juice, 1 ounce strawberry juice, 1 ounce simple syrup, 1/4 ounce fresh ginger juice, Mint sprig, for garnish, Strawberry half, for garnish.
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Steps Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the vodka, Bonal, the lemon, lime, orange and strawberry juices, simple syrup and the ginger juice. Seal and shake for 30 seconds. Pour into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with the mint and strawberry.
By Cathy Barrow | The Washington Post.
A tough little berry makes a sturdy jam
A
s a fruit for preserves, the blueberry is tenacious. The taut globes hold their shape relentlessly — a quality appreciated in pie when, after a time in the hot oven, the berries burst gently. In the case of jam, the sturdy skins are a beneficial source of pectin and need a good squashing to activate their necessary properties. I like to add to the jam the citrusy herbal charm of lemon verbena: subtle, so it elevates the blueberry flavor without interfering. I stir in just enough to balance the natural tartness of the fruit. Use your judgment while sweetening the jam, tasting to understand the sweet and sour of your blueberries. Develop the flavor of the jam by macerating the berries; then, use a potato masher or a sturdy spoon to crush them. The mixture is ready when it has some heft, with a few remaining whole berries suspended in it. Cook it quickly over high heat, so the water content reduces and the gel builds. That’s it. Blueberry jam is satisfyingly straightforward. The jam will firm up further as it cools, so remove it from the stove before it seems done, then let the jam sit and cool for a few minutes before checking the gel. Return the pan to the stove and continue cooking if the jam still seems too loose. Be prepared: Kitchen towels, wooden spoons, aprons and more may be sacrificed to murky, deep purple stains. This is a gloriously messy process. A dollop of blueberry jam and a dram of good gin — stirred well, poured over ice and topped with sparkling water — makes a delightful way to end a day of canning. Barrow’s first cookbook, “Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry: Recipes and Techniques for YearRound Preserving” (W.W. Norton), will be published in the fall. She blogs at www.mrswheelbarrow.com.
Blueberry Jam 4 half-pint jars
Blueberry jam is one of the more foolproof preserves to make. The berries have so much natural pectin in their skin that the jam will thicken easily with no added pectin. Make sure to crush at least twothirds of the berries with a sturdy potato masher. Taste the berries before starting. If they are very tart, add more sugar. If they are very sweet, use less — but use no less than 3 cups. MAKE AHEAD: The uncooked berries need to macerate for 1 hour. The sealed jam jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.
Ingredients 2 pints fresh blueberries, picked over for stems 3 to 4 cups sugar, depending on the berry (see headnote) Juice of 1 lemon 4 sprigs lemon verbena, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional) Steps Rinse the berries. Spread them in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel until dry. Combine the berries, sugar (as needed) and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Add the lemon verbena or lemon zest, if using. Stir to blend well, then let the mixture sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer the mixture to a heavybottomed, nonreactive saucepan; discard the lemon verbena, if using. Use a potato masher to crush half of the berries, then stir to incorporate. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook
long enough so the mixture foams, continuing to stir and mash all but a few of the berries. When the mixture begins to gel at the bottom of the pan, you’re close to finished. Once the foam is almost entirely gone, the jam will be done (about 35 minutes). Test the set; stir in the almond extract, if using. Ladle the jam into the clean jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Clean the rim of each jar. Secure the warmed lids and finger tighten the rings (not too tightly). Process in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes (see NOTES). Use the jar lifter to transfer the jars to a clean, folded dish towel to cool for several hours. Label and date the sealed jars.
Garden Chat By Jean Lundquist
Plenty left to do in the garden
T
his time of year is the time to tie up loose ends. There are so many little things that need to be done to ensure success in the next growing season. They are easy to neglect when we’re so busy canning, freezing, dehydrating and enjoying the summer bounty. First, let’s talk about enjoying the bounty of our hard work and joy of gardening. We all know the joy of the homemade tomato on a bacon, lettuce, onion and tomato sandwich — a BLOT. But have you ever enjoyed a tomato sandwich? Buttered toast with mayonnaise and a slice of your best tomato with a twist of pepper makes it. Nothing easier! Or heat some tomatoes in a sauce pan, and pour over buttered bread with salt and pepper. You don’t have to be a gourmet cook to enjoy tomatoes. If you want some intense tomato flavor, dry some tomatoes. I slice them, put them in the dehydrator, and then put them in the freezer for later use. They provide a blast of flavor in lasagna, spaghetti, chili and the like. Don’t overdo. The flavor is surprisingly intense! While you’re at it, don’t forget to save some seeds from your heirloom and open pollinated tomatoes. If you planted hybrids only, you can’t expect good growing results from saved seeds, so I recommend you don’t do it. One woman I talked to this summer had saved tomato seeds from an unknown plant last year, and had nothing recognizable as a tomato grow in her garden. Disease was also a problem for her plants. On the other hand, a man I talked to saved seeds from a pepper — not a pepper plant, but a pepper — he bought in a store. They grew beautifully. They were quite tasty, too, as he gave me a few of the plants he started, and I put them in my garden. If you are saving seeds, don’t wait until the very end of the season to do so. Do it now, so you’re sure it gets done. And take your best vegetables to save from, as they are the ones you want to replicate. Another bounty coming in this time of year is melons and squash. When you buy a watermelon in the store, I’ve always heard to check for a yellow or white patch on the side where the fruit sat on the ground. I’ve been stung by that advice, often getting a watermelon that not only wasn’t ripe, but barely even pink. 38 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
When you grow them yourself, you have another gauge to use. There is a tendril that grows on the vine near the stem that is attached to the melon. When it is brown and dry, you have a ripe watermelon. The melon should release easily from the stem, too. If you have an extra watermelon, be sure to refer back a few issues for a great recipe for unusual watermelon pickles! For success next year, there are some chores that absolutely positively need to be done now. First to check off your list is to plant garlic. Garlic needs to take root by the end of this month, and start growing to be ready to take off next spring and give you big, juicy garlic cloves. Although many people do this, it’s not recommended by anyone that you buy grocery store garlic bulbs to plant. For one thing, store garlic cloves are almost always a variety known as California White. There are so many more interesting and tasty varieties out there! I suggest you get a couple of bulbs of differing varieties, and compare the taste next spring. I grew Spanish Rojas this year. I’m not yet sure what variety I’ll plant for 2015 harvest. Break the garlic into cloves, and plant them pointy side up, 2 inches or so deep. When they sprout this fall, relax. They are supposed to do that! If you haven’t already done so, make a map of your garden this fall. Crop rotation is SO important! You should also make a note of any pest or disease that befell plants in your veggies this year. Don’t count on your mind remembering next spring where things were planted, and what plagued them. If you have squash vine borer problems in your squash and cucumbers, you want to make sure those plants are placed elsewhere next year. Many diseases (and bugs) can overwinter in the soil. There’s a full month-plus of active gardening ahead. I hope the frost comes late this year, and I hope you enjoy your garden to the max! I’ll let you know next month how my peanuts have been doing this summer. Jean Lundquist is a master gardener who lives near Good Thunder.
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www.dencolighting.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 39
Then
and
Now:
By Bryce O. Stenzel
Local soldier
Milton Hanna
marched with Sherman in Atlanta, helped
build original
Boy in Blue Milton Hanna
S
eptember 2, 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of Union General William T. Sherman’s decisive capture of Atlanta, Georgia, after an arduous, 100-day, overland campaign. And one of Mankato’s own — Milton Hanna — was among them. Upon his return to Mankato he’d be instrumental in the erection of the original “Boy in Blue” statue, the same that inspired recent local efforts to build a new one. With the exception of Richmond, VA, Atlanta produced more cannon barrels, armor plating and ammunition than any other city in the South, making it a key military target. Originally thought to be safe from Union attack, Atlanta was a concentration point for many Confederate quartermasters and logistics experts; warehouses were filled with food, forage, supplies, ammunition, clothing and other material. It was critical to the Confederate troops operating in the Western Theater of the war. Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone With the Wind,” made much of Sherman’s brutality in ordering the city to be destroyed — in reality, however, only 30 percent of Atlanta was burned by Sherman’s hated “Yankee” troops. Most of that occurred when the Union Army left Atlanta in November 1864. Once it became obvious that Hood intended to evacuate the city on the night of Sept. 1, Sherman made no effort to extinguish the flames. Months later, after experiencing a similar situation in South Carolina, Sherman remarked, “I value the life of a single soldier more than I do the city of Columbia. Though I never ordered it, and never wished it, I 40 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
have never shed any tears over the event, because I believe it will hasten what we all fought for — the end of the war.” His attitude toward Atlanta was the same. Not surprisingly, Sherman earned the South’s everlasting enmity — he is still regarded as a pariah. However, Sherman correctly understood that war was not a popularity contest. As he, himself, put it, “war is hell.” Sherman’s concern for his troops as well as his successes on the battlefield made him popular with his men. Many of them affectionately referred to Sherman as “Uncle Billy,” a nick-name Sherman retained the rest of his life. Mankato area resident Milton Hanna participated in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign and his March to the Sea. At age 19 Hanna was one of the first men from Blue Earth County to enlist when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was mustered in as a private in Company H, 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment, the first organized company in Mankato, on June 22, 1861. For his efforts in helping his unit of 14 other men fend off a much larger force of Confederate cavalrymen, Hanna received the Medal of Honor and was later wounded at Chickamauga (1863). At the conclusion of the war (1865), Hanna marched to Washington and took part in the Grand Review before receiving an honorable discharge from the Union Army on July 21, 1865 at Fort Snelling. Hanna returned to Mankato, where he took an active role as quartermaster in the founding of Alexander Wilkin Post 19, Grand Army of the Republic. This organization was responsible for the erection of the original “Boy in Blue” Civil War Veteran’s Memorial in
Mankato area resident Milton Hanna participated in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign and his March to the Sea. At age 19 Hanna was one of the first men from Blue Earth County to enlist when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was mustered in as a private in Company H, 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment, the first organized company in Mankato, on June 22, 1861.
Mankato’s Lincoln Park. “The Boy in Blue,” representing a Union infantry soldier stood 7’-8’ atop a cast iron basin, which in turn stood 6’ above an octagonal pool. Even though the park surrounding the monument was named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, his likeness was not chosen to grace the apex of the memorial. Rather, it depicted the ordinary soldier — the common man who had given his “last, full measure of devotion,” to preserving the American Union and its ideal of “all men are created equal.” The original “Boy in Blue” was dedicated on “Decoration Day,” May 30, 1893. Sadly, he did not remain on active duty guarding his park very long. In 1894, vandals broke off his musket. This happened again in 1911, when the musket was completely broken and the soldier’s fingers were pried off the statue — making it vulnerable to damage from corrosion caused by moisture. A windstorm toppled the figure and it was not repaired. Exposure to the elements and neglect continued
Union Gen. William T. Sherman (above left), and the Original Boy in Blue statue. to take their toll. By 1922, local citizens were asking for the monument’s removal. In 1927, the last vestiges of the fountain pool were removed. A stone pillar of red granite, lying horizontally on its base, was installed in 1935 to replace the statue/fountain. With the formation of the “Boy in Blue” Civil War Memorial Committee in 2011, efforts are now underway to re-create the “Boy in Blue,” so that Milton Hanna and his other “brothersin-arms” from Blue Earth County will not be forgotten. Construction began on the replacement memorial May 6, 2013. The base of the monument was rededicated May 30, 2013, exactly 120 years to the day the first memorial was dedicated. Although the challenges of fundraising as well as numerous construction delays brought about by the unpredictable Minnesota weather can be daunting, the volunteer Boy in Blue Civil War Memorial Committee is determined to finish the memorial by 2015, the year the national Civil War sesquicentennial observance ends. The work has been divided into three phases. Phase I (base) has been completed. Phase II, (cast iron pedestal or “bottom bowl” cast from the original blueprints) is scheduled to be installed in the fall of 2014. Phase III (statue) is scheduled to be placed in 2015. MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 41
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 43
Your Style
F
By Meg Kinnard | Associated Press
South Carolina woman makes clothes from castoffs
or Jillian Owens, some of her passion for fashion was motivated by a desire for new garments without the creation of more waste. And, she says openly on her blog, “I was also quite broke and couldn’t afford new clothes.” Since 2010, Owens has been delving into thrift store racks around her Columbia, South Carolina, home, taking what some may see as outdated castoffs and whipping them into hip, trendy fashions. She says she’s made hundreds of creations, donating many to charity and at times opening up her closet to friends for their perusal. Describing herself as a creative child, Owens says she always enjoyed drawing and crafts but didn’t start sewing until receiving a sewing machine as a gift six years ago. Interested in making some of her own clothes, Owens says she got discouraged by high prices at fabric stores, as well as the lack of patterns to fit her petite frame. “It would be cheaper to buy something new rather than sew it yourself,” Owens, 32, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “I noticed that there were a lot of things that really weren’t that bad. I mean, they were still bad, but they could be reworked.” On her blog, www.refashionista.net, Owens shows a step-by-step tutorial on each of her creations, giving readers a window into her process. Before and after photos depict how she transitioned a black funereal frock 44 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
into a mod cocktail dress, or how a pair of stretchy, lifeless gaucho pants became a slinky, one-sleeved number. Her ethos on refashioning pieces is two-pronged: Remaking discarded pieces into something new saves money, Owens says, and it also helps her stay true to her desire not to purchase or support what she calls massproduced, “disposable” clothing that ends up in a landfill. “What I found is a really inexpensive way to dress really nicely in something that’s well-made, that’s custom fitted to me,” said Owens, who works at the nonprofit United Way of the Midlands. “And I’m not hurting the environment. I’m not supporting companies that engage in labor practices that I don’t believe in.” In recent weeks, Owens’ work has blossomed in terms of national notoriety. A piece on BuzzFeed led to mentions on fashion blogs all over the world. On Friday, Owens appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” A book is in the works, as are classes at a local library in Columbia, in conjunction with another “refashioning” blogger in Columbia. “People want to refashion. They get excited about it but they’ll think that sewing is hard, or it’s not for them,” Owens said. “The big thing I’m trying to do is to keep sewing simple and accessible to them. If you do screw-up, that’s OK. It’s all a learning process. You’re just buying a dollar item. If you screw-up, you’re out a dollar.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 45
Your Health
By Darlena Cunha | Special To The Washington Post
I fed my newborns formula to keep them alive. Still, I felt guilty about it
H
ello, my name is Darlena Cunha, and I was a formula feeder. The day I bought my first can marked a parenting low for me. When I was pregnant, I read books and parenting Web sites that extolled the virtue of breast milk. Good mothers, I learned, breastfeed. Lazy mothers don’t. Yet here I was, giving up. But my kids were hungry. And no matter what I did, they wouldn’t latch. We’d all end up frustrated, exhausted and crying. They took bottles of pumped milk, but they weren’t getting enough. At a month, my babies were just six pounds, and they weren’t gaining weight. So we switched to formula. Taking out that bottle in the mall earned me scornful glances from other mothers. One woman confronted me about it, saying my children were so tiny they surely needed the antibodies only my milk could provide. You know what I did? I lied. “It’s pumped milk.” My tone was too defensive, but I didn’t care. “I exclusively pump.” I figure that had been true not so long ago, but my ears still burned. That awful, soul-eating shame disappeared once I saw the powder’s results. The babies gained almost a pound in a month. By three and a half months, they had grown out of their preemie gear and were wearing newborn clothes. And for the first time, they weren’t hungry. What I thought of as failure was actually success. My beautiful little bags of bones were filling out. They were happy. They were well-fed. And even though I was feeding them formula, they felt well loved. The sky had not fallen down. If you’re pregnant, chances are you’ve heard that “breast is best.” In 2004, the nationally funded campaign “Babies Were Born to Be Breastfed” began, running until 2006 with the goal of getting 75 percent of women nurse until their first postpartum period and 50 percent of mothers nurse for at least six months. But the saturation of breastfeeding ideals has been deep and consuming for mothers for the greater part of the past decade. Check any parenting community, and you’ll find dozens of voices repeating the mantra. There’s some science behind that — breastfeeding does boost babies’ immune systems and provides them their mother’s antibodies before they can make their own. The World Health Organization recommends mothers breastfeed for at least six months. But like so many messages these days, the idea that women must breastfeed has gotten a little out of hand. In a survey conducted by Baby Talk Magazine, in which 46 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
36,000 women took part, 66 percent of breast feeders said they felt sorry for formula-fed babies, and 33 percent of them called their formula-feeding counterparts lazy and selfish. That idea is echoed in the media, with scary articles about stores pulling formula off the shelves after a baby died of a bacterial infection (which was never linked to the formula at all) and entire cities putting formula behind locked doors in perky campaigns like New York City’s “Latch On, NYC.” This ignores a couple of large issues. Just as important as the baby’s health is the mother’s health, and very often, when breastfeeding, adult medications must be stopped so that the effects don’t reach the infants via the mothers’ milk. With postpartum depression affecting 1 in 7 mothers and many more suffering from anxiety and other mental illness, going off these medications could be disastrous. Not to mention, for low-weight babies like mine, some formula is fortified with extra calories, giving them the boost they need to maintain their fragile temperatures. In fact, there’s little evidence that there’s any developmental difference in babies who are breast or bottle fed, according to Professor Joan Wolf, author of “Is Breast Best? Taking on the Breastfeeding Experts and the New High Stakes of Motherhood.” And a new study that researched families in which one sibling was breastfed and the other formula fed found no differences between the two. When we view feeding babies as a competition, and we foist blame and judgment upon those who cannot nurse, we eat away at the very goal we’re trying to obtain_a healthy, happy child. That means accepting women who don’t breastfeed, even if it’s simply because they’re too busy or tired or just don’t feel like it. Unclutch the pearls. It’s OK. It’s not the world’s baby, it’s that mother’s baby. And she gets to choose how she keeps it alive. “I never even tried,” said Emily Santanella. “I just didn’t want to. I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable with it. And I’ve got three very healthy kids who are attached to me at the hip.” We need to stop the judgment. Whether women are breastfeeding in public or formula feeding, society feels like it has the right to tell them what they are doing wrong. And that’s the last thing new mothers need. They already feel like they’re doing everything wrong — it is the nature of motherhood. As long as mothers are feeding their babies, whether they breastfeed or bottle feed, why don’t we just let them do it?
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 47
Coming Attractions: September 4 -- Duo Zeno with Preston Duncan and Scotty Horey 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -- Minnesota State University -507-389-5549 4-5 -- Minnesota Shorts Play Festival 7:30 p.m. – Mankato West High School -- $8 in advance; $5 for students at Hy-Vee stores or online at mnshorts.com 5 -- First Speaker Series: David Brave Heart 12:10 p.m. -- First Presbyterian Church -- 220 East Hickory St., Mankato -- free 5 -- Mankato Pride: Queer-aoke 8:30 p.m. -- Pub 500 -- 500 S. Front St., Mankato -- 21+ after 10 p.m. -www.scmnpride.org/pridefest 5 -- Mason Jennings and Jeremy Messersmith 7 p.m. -- Vetterstone Amphitheater -Riverfront Park -- $22 in advance, $25 day of show -- 800-745-3000 -ticketmaster.com 6 -- Mankato Pride Parade 11:30 a.m. -- Riverfront Drive -www.scmnpride.org/pridefest/ 6 -- Mankato Pridefest 12-5 p.m. -- Riverfront Park -www.scmnpride.org/pridefest/ 6 -- Mankato Pride Dance 8 p.m.-12 a.m. -- VFW, Morson Ario -1900 N. Riverfront Drive, Mankato -$5 in advance, $7 at door -- www. scmnpride.org/pridefest/
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7 -- Southern Minnesota’s Wedding Expo Verizon Wireless Center -- free -507-345-4646 11 -- Mankato Area Fair Trade Town Initiative: Fair Trade Fashion Show 7 p.m. -- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Mankato -- 937 Charles Ave., Mankato -- $10 adults, $5 students -- 507-720-0768 11 -- MSU Performance Series: The Last Revel 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -- Minnesota State University -507-389-5549 13 -- Down In The Valley Craft Beer and Music Festival 3 p.m. -- Vetterstone Amphitheater -Riverfront Park -- $40 in advance, $45 day of show, $22 concert only ticket -21+ event -- 800-745-3000 -ticketmaster.com 14 -- Chad Winterfeldt Faculty Organ Recital 7:30-9 p.m. -- Christ Chapel -- Gustavus Adolphus College -- free -507-933-7013 14 -- MSU Performance Series: The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -- Minnesota State University -507-389-5549 16 -- MSU Performance Series: The Brass Kings 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -- Minnesota State University -507-389-5549
17-20 -- MSU Theatre presents: A Piece of My Heart 7:30 p.m. -- Andreas Theatre -Minnesota State University -- $10 regular, $9 seniors ages 65 and up, children ages 16 and under, or groups of 15 or more, $8 MSU students -507-389-6661 20 -- Yumiko Oshima-Ryan Faculty Piano Recital 1:30-3:30 p.m. -- Bjorling Recital Hall -Gustavus Adolphus College -- free --507-933-7013 21 -- MSU Performance Series: Speaking In Tongues 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -- Minnesota State University -507-389-5549 21 -- Mankato Bridal Show 11 a.m.-4 p.m. -Verizon Wireless Center -- free -http://mankatobridalshow.com 28 -- MN River Valley Wind Ensemble 3 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -Minnesota State University -507-389-5549 29 -- MSU Performance Series: An Evening with Slaid Cleaves 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Early Center for Performing Arts -- Minnesota State University -507-389-5549 30 -- Zonta Club of Mankato Fashion Show 4:30 p.m. -- Verizon Wireless Center -$45 -- www.zontamankato.org
Faces & Places
Photos By Sport Pix
B-17 Bomber Jet Tours
1. The Boeing B-17 turned Mankato’s airport into a museum for the day, as tours and flights were offered aboard the plane that modeled those that flew many missions in Europe. 2. John Braam talks to George “Bud” Shurson who flew 50 missions in a B-17 unit. 3. John Mertesdorf and Gene Fuchs use the massive wings to stay dry from the rain. 4. Grandma and Papa Bergman spent the day with their grandkids exploring a little piece of history. 5. From Left: Jim Marble, Carl and Jon Fitzloff peer inside the rear of the plane. 6. An employee gives the plane a good cleaning in preparation for its flight.
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Faces & Places
Photos By Sport Pix
N Mkto Fun Days Parade 1. The Mankato 77 Lancers, who perform in many parades throughout the year, brought their show to the North Mankato Fun Days parade. 2. A member of the Mankato Area Derby Girls team shows off her rollerskating skills. 3. Katie Borneke, who was crowned Miss Mankato 2014 in Nov. 2013, rides through the parade. 4. A member of the River City Rhythm drumline plays to the crowd. 5. An old tractor cruises down Belgrade Avenue in North Mankato. 6. A member of the Kracker Jacks Drumline puts on a show for the audience. 7. Traveling all the way from Sioux Falls, SD, the Su Fu Du drumline is one of the most popular of its kind in the area.
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Faces & Places
Photos By Sport Pix
St Peter Old Fashion 4th of July
1. A solider helps his daughter out of one of the military vehicles on display at St. Peter’s Picnic in the Park. 2. A young participant takes a huge bite of his meal during the Hot Dog Eating contest. 3. Captain America stood tall atop a vehicle towards the end of the parade. 4. Parade participants made sure to show off their patriotism by dressing in red, white and blue. 5. A young parade participant tosses out candy to her peers. 6. Stunt Monkey, of Hot 96.7, greets the crowd with his infectious smile. 7. A member of the Shriners organization waves to young fans. 8. Kids go for rides around the park in the colorful train. 9. The NRHEG High School band marches down the streets of St. Peter.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 51
From
this
Valley
By Pete Steiner
Don Rivet – Mankato’s MORNING MAN
B
ack on Feb. 21, we’d just gotten a heavy snow accompanied by 50-mph winds. Most main roads were clogged, if not shut down altogether. Hardly anything, including plows, was moving at 3 a.m. Don Rivet approached County Road 17 in his little black sedan, and the prospects looked grim. But he spotted a pickup with a plow and asked if he could hitch a two-mile ride to the radio station near Eagle Lake. By 5 a.m., along with news director Wendy Wilde, who’d actually camped out overnight in the studio, Don was ready to go on air with a full report on road conditions, school closings, and prospects for when the winds would die down. Some radio announcers get ink by broadcasting from a strange location or staging a stupid stunt. Rivet has stayed in the business longer than most simply by showing up every day to pass on crucial information and, when weather or floods are not the issue, maybe making folks laugh a little or feel better about themselves. ••••
I was on the morning show at KTOE with Don for 12 years as the news guy. No one had ever done a profile on him, so in my latest incarnation, I asked if he’d mind if I wrote something. I agreed to show up to cover his day “as it is happening.” I pulled into the parking lot at 4:24 a.m. — just the second car there. “You’re late!” he smiled as I entered the studio, bringing in the morning newspapers. He’d been there since three, downloading information from the newswire, various websites, and from an online service he subscribes to called “Sheet Happens.” Various piles of paper were spread across the console counters, and a morning news show blared from a small TV mounted in a corner. The syndicated all-night radio show was wrapping up with a discussion on reincarnation. Rivet is busily highlighting the stories he thinks are most appropriate for this day. “This is my peace and quiet time,” Rivet says at 4:40 a.m., as he highlights one soundbite he might use from the late night shows. At least two yellow highlighters lie uncapped on the console. His former colleague, the late Red Lewis, used to joke that Don singlehandedly kept Hi-Liter and Sharpie in business with all the markers he goes through. “You never know what the day’s gonna bring,” he says. “I gotta work harder, I have to know what the community might be talking about.” •••• At 5 a.m., number one sidekick Dan McCargar strolls in and heads for his computer across the console from Don. Wilde and sports guy Barry Wortel will arrive soon after. It was actually Wortel, then the station Program Director, who hired Rivet back in 1979 from a remote outpost in Worland, Wyoming. Newly married, Don had quit a factory job in his native St. Paul. “I wanted to write commercials!” But with no experience, he took a 52 • september 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
friend’s advice and went to Brown Institute, where he got a broadcast degree. Like many others, he had to find his first job in the boondocks. He was only too happy to come back to Minnesota, even if it meant doing afternoon news and “the dreaded Sunday shift.” He moved to the coveted morning show several years later, and has stayed there for three decades. •••• McCargar and Rivet will exchange a few thoughts on what’s coming up this day. Maybe an interview – whether with the mayor, or maybe the creator of “Sharknado,” or with author David Baldacci or actress Kerry Washington. A regular guest is ABC medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who talks not only health, but also shares a passion for hockey. With his broad knowledge of pop culture, politics, sports, and business, Rivet admits he’d be a good person to have on your game show team. It’s 5:05 a.m., the red microphone light goes on. Show time. •••• Rivet is confident, yet self-effacing: “Nothing hard about what I do, I’m just being myself, whether I’m on or off the air.” Though he makes it sound easy, discussing a variety of topics each day, few have the gift of gab to sustain four and a half hours of mostly talking, day in, day out, year after year. Though he’s not yet 60, Don’s eventual exit from radio gives program directors nightmares anticipating how they might replace him. He’s teased about the fact that as his shift wraps at 10 a.m., he’s out the door by 10:03. That was long conducive to one of his passions: golf. A decade ago, he tried to play a hundred 18-hole rounds a year. But he’s playing far less golf these days, spending more time attending to his “clients,” who pay him for on-air endorsements. After all, in a business where getting ten percent of the audience is considered success, recent ratings have Rivet and company getting about a third of the audience 35 and older. So he’s writing those commercials he wanted to write when he was 20. He grins, “I always loved Steve Cannon (Twin Cities radio legend known for his endorsements.) He always said, ‘I got the money!’” But more important, Rivet says, “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have fun.” Any problems with the job? He rolls his eyes, admitting his 2 a.m. wakeup call allows virtually no nightlife. Though he may be seen at weekend hockey games, he says, “I miss having a social life. Heck, most nights, I’m in bed by seven!”
Peter Steiner is host of “Talk of the Town” weekdays at 1:05 p.m. on KTOE.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 53